Lipgloss Break: March 2012
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One Night in Atlanta


I was in Atlanta this week for a work event and enjoyed every second of the 80 degree weather. I always have fun when I’m in Atlanta, whether its for work or pleasure.  It’s a fun city filled with very nice people!

We stayed at the W Hotel in Midtown and it was super swanky! W Hotels never disappoint, but I was especially impressed with this one.


View from my room while I did a BodyRock.tv workout in the morning.


I love little toiletries! My mom is probably shaking her head right now, and my dad is probably so proud (I get my hoarding skills from my dad :)! I had to hold on to these Bliss mini bottles. So cute! Hand lotion (perfect for the purse), shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and a special treat…face wash! These make great travel companions and are terrific for gym bags. 

All in all it was a successful business trip and great time in the city. Next week - Chicago bound!



Frederic Fekkai Blow Outs at Ulta


To celebrate Spring, Frederic Fekkai is inviting consumer to ULTA Beauty stores nationwide on April 5th for a complimentary blow-out featuring two of Fekkai's best selling collections. 


Consumers will have a choice between two signature styles: Silky Straight or Full Blown Volume.  The Full Blown Volume utilizes products from the Fekkai Advanced collection for extra volume and added oomph! The Fekkai Silky Straight Ironless collection is a revolutionary four step system that makes hair look effortlessly  straight and chic.


In addition to complimentary blow-outs, consumers will be treated to a 1.6oz Brilliant Glossing Cream with the purchase of $25 in Fekkai products.

Where: The Salons at ULTA Beauty Stores Nationwide. To find the Ulta store nearest you – please visit www.ulta.com and click on the store locator. 

When:  Thursday, April 5th, 1-8pm

How: For additional information about Fekkai National Blow Out, please visit Fekkai.com.



CND Shellac in Rose Bud

I had to stay up past my bedtime and Shellac my nails for my work trip this week to HOT-lanta. I usually like to do light neutral colors for my visits, but I'm really feeling 'Spring-y' with this nice weather, so I went with a soft pinkish-mauve, Rose Bud.




Beautiful Change Challenge #1 - Eating Clean

 

For almost 2 years now I've been following a 'clean eating' diet. It's not counting calories or carbs or any kinda crazy cleanse, it's just making sure what you put into your body is healthy and good for you. No preservatives, excess fats and oils. Just clean, healthy goodness here. 
Reading and studying about this diet helped me to realize that some of the food I was putting in my body was horrible. Even a few changes to your diet can help clean it up a bit and you'll feel great. Here are a few changes you can make in your every day meal plan to help clean up your diet. 
  • Cut out foods with preservatives. If an item from the grocery store has a year of shelf life, just think of all the junk they put in it to help it stay 'good' that long. Yuck! Look for items with less than 3-4 ingredients. 
  • Cut out sugary drinks, like pop and sugary juices, and replace it with water. LOTS of water! 
  • Eat whole grains. Whole wheat bread, brown rice, whole grain pasta, etc. are all delicious and quite frankly, I like them more and I think they taste better than regular white carbs now.
Some of my favorite clean eating essentials: The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno, MaraNatha All Natural Roasted Almond Butter (you can find this at Costco), Dannon Oikos Green Nonfat Yogurt, Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Brown Rice Flour, Spectrum Organic Coconut Oil)
Just to stress: Clean eating DOES NOT require you to starve yourself or count calories, it's all about eating good food. You can find tons of fun recipe books at your nearest book store (one of my favorites is The Eat-Clean Diet by Tosca Reno) or recipes online
Be kind to your body - it's the only you got! I challenge you to clean up your diet this Spring. Please comment and share your clean eating changes and/or recipes below!

New AVEENO® PURE RENEWAL™ lets you renew your hair to its naturally balanced state daily. Unlike ordinary shampoos, these sulphate-free formulas have Balancing Seaweed Extract; bringing hair back to its naturally healthy, most balanced state with each wash, for beautifully healthy-looking hair. Learn more here http://bit.ly/A1cjWg

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by AVEENO® via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of AVEENO®


Soap & Glory Giveaway


Soap & Glory is giving away $500 worth of beauty products - all you have to do is 'like' them on Facebook. Good luck!



The Hunger Games "Colours from the Capitol"

Who else is excited for The Hunger Games tomorrow? I'm going to a 4:45pm showing with my friends and it can't get here fast enough!


Here are some swatches from the China Glaze "Colours from the Capitol" collection...which color should I wear to the movie?


The Hunger Games China Glaze nail polish collection
Starting in the upper left corner and going clockwise (Fast Track, Dress Me Up, Riveting, Harvest Moon, Smoke and Ashes, & Hook and Line)

Full line up:
Dress Me Up – A stripped down dark rose pink crème
Foie Gras – Decadent dark crème taupe

Fast Track – Soft sandy brown with a gold metallic shimmer
Hook and Line –Pearlescent light grey
Stone Cold – Matte slate grey with shimmer
Smoke and Ashes – Black-based teal with multicolored shimmer
Agro – Moss green with gold shimmer
Mahogany Magic – Reddish-brown crème
Harvest Moon – Crystalized copper shimmer
Riveting – Bright orange shimmer
Electrify – High-wattage gold and ruby red glitter blend
Luxe and Lush – A high octane flaky overcoat

"May the odds be ever in your favor"


Groupon Scheduler

I'm a huge fan of the daily deal trend that has taken over the internet. Groupon, Living Social, Daily Candy Swirl...all good ones for beauty related deals. Sites like Groupon and Living Social make it fun and affordable to try out new restaurants, stores and of course, salons and spas!


Groupon announced a few days ago the launch of Groupon Scheduler, a free way to do online bookings 24/7 at spas, salons and other classes. It's super easy and sends you reminders of the bookings you make! Genius!  Check it out:  www.groupon.com/scheduler


Zoya Summer & Beach Summer 2012

I'm loving these colors, the beachy cream colors are beautiful!



Zoya BEACH Collection
  • Reagan - deep cerise pink cream
  • Lara - vivid cerise pink cream
  • Shelby - soft pinky pink cream
  • Arizona - soft coral orange cream
  • Tracie - sea grass metallic
  • Wednesday - soft aqua cream
Zoya SURF Collection
  • Rory - lotus pink foil metallic
  • Carly - thalia purple foil metallic
  • Kimber - magenta pink foil metallic
  • Myrta - coral orange foil metallic
  • Meg - mermaid green foil metallic
  • Zuza - aquamarine foil metallic
Available April 1 at zoya.com!


Bath & Body Works Celebrates National Fragrance Day

March 21st is National Fragrance Day...and Bath & Body Works is celebrating! LIKE them on Facebook and FOLLOW them on Twitter to get a sneak peak at their exclusive offerings!

  • First 20 people at each store, who make Bath & Body Works their Facebook status update will receive a FREE Full Size Fragrance Mist w/$10 purchase
  • Each hour Bath & Body Works will highlight one of our top 5 fragrances and giveaway 5 prizes on Twitter and 5 on Facebook (total of 10 each hour)!!!
Twitter: @LUVBBW


Simplify Your Life


                                             
 


Last week I posted about how to unwind and de-stress after a long day. Today, I’d like to share with you the simple changes I’ve made in my every day life, to help stress less during the week!



Plan your meals (my number one recommendation!) 

I like to eat healthy, and I’ve found I can do this best if I cook at home, using all healthy and fresh ingredients. To use ‘fresh’ ingredients requires a weekly trip to the grocery store. Every weekend before I head to the store I plan out my meals for the week, so I know exactly which ingredients I need to buy. This not only helps me to save money on groceries I don’t need or can’t use, but also makes for very fast and efficient grocery trips!



A sample ‘menu’ for this week looks like this:
Monday – Beef stew

Tuesday – Southwest Chicken Salad

Wednesday – Salmon

Thursday – Chicken sausages and whole wheat pasta

Friday – Slow cooker chicken tacos

I know exactly what I need to buy each weekend and I can also prep my meals the night before (example, chopping up veggies or mixing sauces) so I can make them that much faster the next day. I’ve also become a fan of my slow cooker. Nothing beats coming home from a long day at work and having dinner prepared already!
I keep a magnetic notepad on my fridge with the weekly menu, as well as an ongoing shopping list so I can add things as I run out through the week.

Family Calendar
My husband and I both use Google Calendar to help us keep up to date on events and each other’s schedules. I’m sure there are other free calendars that are available as well, but Google Calendar works well since we both use Gmail.

I place events on his calendar that he needs to plan around, for example, ‘Dinner with Mom and Dad on Sunday at 1pm.’ We both have smartphones, so it makes it easy to check our calendar on the go and make plans. It’s also helpful to add to each other’s calendar when we’ll be traveling for work, so I know not to cook dinner for him or he knows not to expect me to be home.

Plan your outfits
Don’t you hate when you get the feeling ‘ugh, I have nothing to wear!’ It happens to all of us, and I’m sure it’s just because we are searching for a last minute outfit. I like to pick my outfits out the night before. This way I can steam them if they have wrinkles, choose accessories, nail polish and makeup to match. This shaves off at least 15 minutes of my morning routine…15 more minutes I get to sleep!

What are things that you do to help simplify your life? Please share!

Sprint is the only national carrier that has truly Unlimited data for all phones while on the Sprint network with the Everything Data plan. No throttling, no metering and no overages. Plus you get Unlimited text and calling to any mobile.  It’s the simple plan that allows you to use data on your phone the way it should be used.  Visit http://bit.ly/xK6WDo

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Sprint via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Sprint.


Zoya Spring 2012


Loving Zoya Spring line!



TRUE 
'Honestly, Beautiful Color' A fresh bloom of dewy color, inspired by the runway looks of top designers, this collection features slightly muted and unexpected spring shades in six easy to wear full coverage creams and metallics.
Cho - full coverage, vanilla shimmer metallic
Farah - full coverage, latte beige cream (my favorite from the line)
Bevin - pale sage green cream
Skylar - silvered slate blue metallic
Tru - gilded purple orchid metallic
Lotus - light lotus purple metallic


FLECK EFFECT
'Mylar Fleck Top coats that can be worn alone or layered over other nail polishes. These have the coolest 3d effect I have ever seen. They are also not bulky like regular glitter, and it's more flesh with the nail bed. 
Maisie - blue tint with mylar green fleck effect
Opal - green tint with mylar green fleck effect
Chloe - pink tint with mylar green and gold fleck effect

Suggested Retail price: $8.00 bottle


Bath & Body Works Spring Scented Candles

New Bath & Body Works scents for Spring!

Green Grass: Refreshing as shaded grass on a warm, sunny day, this candle blends dewy greens and Meyer lemon, infused with Lily-of-the-Valley and a touch of jasmine




Spring: Like a dream of walking in a lush garden in full bloom, this candle combines sweet apple blossoms, yellow daisies and daffodils





Drenched Apple Flower: Invigorating as a walk through the orchard after a spring shower, this candle combines crisp Fuji apples with rain-soaked greens and pink lotus blossom






Available at Bath & Body Works Stores nationwide and www.bathandbodyworks.com
Cost: $19.50 for the 3 wick 14.5oz Candle


Total Beauty 2012 Readers' Choice Awards


How will your favorite beauty products fare in our 3rd annual Beauty Awards?
Total Beauty's 2012 Readers' Choice Awards
This is a TotalBeauty.com beauty products article
We've got over 500 products in the running for our 2012 Beauty Awards, and you get to decide which products win the coveted Readers' Choice Awards! When you give your favorite products a pat on the back, you also earn points toward snagging a swag bag of the winning products (worth $350!). Pretty sweet, right? Cast your votes before polls close on March 30.



Giveaway Break - Mally Beauty

Happy 7th Anniversary to Mally Beauty! Mally Roncal, Creator of Mally Beauty, has created countless beauty products, including 'bulletproof' makeup that stays put all day! After years of working with celebrities, Mally took the next step in her career to create Mally Beauty 7 years ago...and we thank her for it!


Please wish her a Happy Anniversary by tweeting at her (@mallybeauty) and by posting on her Facebook wall at facebook.com/mallybeauty. 


To help celebrate the anniversary, Mally Beauty is looking to give away one Mally Beauty Shimmer, Shape & Glow Defining System! This is the secret that all Mally's celebrity clients swear by! It contains a powder that lifts and illuminates cheekbones, a second powder that softly contours, and a third powder that gives you a beautiful glow. 

***Giveaway***

Enter to win a Mally Shimmer, Shape &Glow Defining System!

Fill out the form below to win! For extra entries, you can sign up for my mailing list, post a link to this giveaway on your blog, follow my blog, follow me and retweet on Twitter , follow me on Pinterest or become a fan on Facebook; just make sure to list the entries in your comment. Enter up to once a day!

This giveaway is open to US residents only. The contest will end on Sunday, April 15th. I will randomly select one winner and announce them on Lipgloss Break, so keep checking to see if you're a winner - Good Luck!






Don't Stress!



Life is too short to sweat the small stuff. I was the biggest worrier out of my friends growing up, always stressing out about little details, and it look a lot of years to learn how to effectively manage my stress. I've come a long way, but stress management is something I think I'll work on forever.

When I feel myself getting stressed, or know I'm heading into a stressful situation (example, daily commute to and from work!) I like to treat myself to something fun or relaxing, to help keep my mind off the situation and to help me relax. Here are few things I do, some on a daily basis!

Cup of joe for my commute – I drive, without traffic, about 30 minutes to and from work each day. When there’s bad weather or construction, it can take almost an hour, which leaves Angela not so happy! I love to get in the driving zone with my favorite music station and sip on a cup of flavored coffee I brewed that morning. Having a nice hot drink for the ride makes traffic more bearable. 

Coffee not your thing? Take time in the morning to make yourself a tea, pour yourself a glass of OJ, or even water with a splash of lemon. Treat yourself to a fun travel mug and you’ll have something to take your mind off of traffic and the stress out of your commute.

Take a walk – It’s winter in Michigan but today the temperature was 65 degrees! Put on a light jacket and take a walk, even just around your block, to get your blood flowing and to get fresh air (and hopefully some sunshine too). Having a bad day at work? Take a break or walk during your lunch break. Exercise will help take your mind off of work and/or other stressful situations in your life, and will make you feel better. Plus, you can’t argue the health benefits of regular exercise.

Wine down – I hate to promote drinking…but a glass of wine can work wonders! I like to buy the single serving wine bottles from the grocery store when on sale. And I’m always the first to snatch up the latest Groupon or Living Social wine deal to stock up for company and myself (and for impromptu hostess gifts!).


Take a bath – End your day and de-stress with a bath. Treat yourself to a new scented bubble bath product and relax. I keep a basket (pictured below) of fun bath bubbles, gossip magazines, my e-reader and candles by my bath tub. Include a glass of wine and you’ll forget all about that busy and stressful day you just had. 
Please join in on the conversation below and share how you take the stress out of your day!


Sprint is the only national carrier that has truly Unlimited data for all phones while on the Sprint network with the Everything Data plan. No throttling, no metering and no overages. Plus you get Unlimited text and calling to any mobile.  It’s the simple plan that allows you to use data on your phone the way it should be used.  Visit http://bit.ly/xK6WDo


Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Sprint via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Sprint.







Beauty Bar Sample Society Boxes

Beauty Bar and Allure have teamed up to launch Beauty Bar Sample Society box. This is an exclusive beauty sampling program brought to you by two huge names in Beauty! 


The first box included the following: 
The first box included: Fekkai Advanced Glossing Cream (1.6 oz)
Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant (.45 oz)
REN Glycolactic Skin Renewal Peel Mask (15 ml)
Skyn Iceland Icelandic Relief Eye Pen (.14 oz) 
Oscar de la Renta Espirit D’Oscar Eau de Parfum Rollerball (.1 fl oz).

Looks like membership is closed for now, but you can sign up to receive a notification when it's open.


MAC by Request


M·A·C is inviting fans to vote for their favorite shades starting March 12 on Facebook.  18 popular lipsticks, lipglasses and eye shadows have been selected from past collections; the three shades with the most votes from each category will come back as an online exclusive, limited edition collection.

Voting opens to all Facebook fans March 12-30.  The collection will be available online in North America in August and internationally Fall 2012.

Do you have a favorite shade or two? Start your own campaign; tweet about it using #MACBYREQUEST

Lipstick:
3N as seen in N Collection (January 2008)
Candy Yum Yum as seen in Quite Cute (April 2011)
Eden Rocks as seen in Eden Rocks (May 2001)
Moxie as seen in Retro Matte Lipsticks (September 1999)
Rocker as seen in Time Rocker (Fall 1999)
Shitaki as seen in Cuisine (March 2001)

Lipglass:
2N as seen in N Collection (January 2008)
Bait as seen in Lure (June 2006)
Cult of Cherry as seen in Cult of Cherry (September 2008)
Emancipation as seen in Wonder Woman (February 2011)
Flash of Flesh as seen in M·A·C D’Bohemia (May 2005)
Icescape as seen in Love Lace (December 2009)

Eye Shadow:
Cool Heat as seen in Cool Heat – June 2008
Guacamole as seen in Salsabelle (May 2005)
Heavenly Bliss as seen in Eden Rocks (May 2001)
Jeté as seen in Danse (January 2006)
Moth Brown as seen in Madame B. (March 2005)
Solar White as seen in Cool Heat (June 2008)


In North America only, TXT a shade name to 898622 and they'll count your vote. The texter will also receive future sms/mms from M·A·C Cosmetics Online, featuring exclusives and events. Msg and Data rates may apply.


Lancôme Instagram Contest - Rouge In Love


Keep falling in love with Rouge In Love by entering the Color In Your Life Instagram contest launching on Friday, March 9th. Nine lucky  winners will receive a custom-made Rouge In Love inspired Solange Azagury-Partridge iconic Hotlips ring ($1,500 value).

Rouge In Love features three collections and 21 shades inspired by different times of the day—Jolis Matins (natural shades ideal for morning, #inlovewithday), Boudoir Time(punchy hues for the late afternoon, #inlovewithdusk) and Tonight Is My Night (intense colors perfect for a night on the town, #inlovewithnight).

To enter:
·         Upload a photo using Instagram which represents one of the Rouge in Love color moods
·         Hashtag the mood represented
·         #inlovewithday
·         #inlovewithdusk
·         #inlovewithnight
·         Winners are required to follow Lancomeparis on Instagram
·         Winners will be selected based on the Instagram photo that has the most likes/comments using the hashtag
·         Each winner will win a custom-made Solange “Rouge in Love” inspired ring

Over the course of three weeks, Lancôme will select a photo for each mood for a total of 9 winners, 3 from each mood.

Watch this quick 20 second video to learn more: http://youtu.be/XWsUwhqkR4o

Good luck!